Event Location: 1305 Newell Simon Hall
Bio: Jose Gomez-Marquez is the program director for the Innovations in International Health initiative at MIT. Among the projects under his technology practice at IIH is the Aerovax Drug Delivery System, a device for mass delivery of inhalable drugs and vaccines to remote populations. The rest of his IIH invention portfolio includes SafePilot, a next generation cane for the blind, and most recently, the X out TB program, which aims to increase TB therapy adherence in developing countries using novel diagnostics and mobile technology. Recently, the group has developed the MEDIK kit, a series of design building blocks that empower doctors and nurses in developing countries to invent their medical technologies.

Jose serves on the European Union’s Science Against Poverty Taskforce and has participated as an expert advisor in the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. He is an instructor of MIT’s D-Lab: Health, a course on designing global health technologies at MIT. After working in institutional investments and international development, Jose went back as a mid-career student to the Worcester Polytechnic Institute where he focused on policy research studies covering international technology transfer and small team innovation. Jose is a 3 time MIT IDEAS Competition winner, including two Lemelson Awards for International Technology. In 2009, Jose was selected to Technology Review’s T35, which also named him Humanitarian of the Year. He arrived to the United States from his native Honduras on a Rotary scholarship and currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Abstract: The WHO estimates that 90% of all medical devices sent to developing countries are donated. Of these, only 10% to 30% actually become operational. They fail because they were never designed to operate in those environments. To that end, the IIH group at MIT has formed an interdisciplinary group of affiliated researchers around the world to tackle this overlooked challenge. After a successful co-design of the XoutTB compliance diagnostic with Nicaraguan scientists, the group launched the MEDIK project. MEDIK kits are DIY Medical device kits designed to foster innovation and creativity In medical professionals in developing countries. By demystifing the technology of medical devices and providing a collection of appropriate tools and materials, the MEDIK kits enable medical professionals to develop their own solutions to medical device problems using locally available resources. The platform of teaching medical technology through DIY kits was inspired by the D-Lab Health course, which uses technology kits to teach MIT students how to design appropriate technology for global health. The resulting projects and on-the-ground evaluations inspired the design of six different kinds of kits: Drug Delivery, Diagnostics, Microfluidics, Telemedicine, VitalSigns and Prosthetics. The project illustrates the importance of strong long-run community partners, a willingness to understand each other’s opinions about healthcare development, and the cultural, regulatory, and economic ramifications that result in the promotion of health care workers above their traditional professional requirements, and into the role of a technology innovator.